Quote:
Originally Posted by BigCat
That's interesting...I've never heard that before. It seems odd that it would be an issue with padrons, however, as I understand them to have one of the best quality control reputations out there. Thanks for pointing it out.
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All I can tell you is that I used to be a big fan of Padron in mid '90s, even late '90s, they used to be my go to smokes to the point of chasing early release Annis and paying up to $25-30 per stick (in then dollars). Re-visited them in the past few years and well, fully agree with the review Steve posted, they seem to be bland and not as "quality" as I remember them in years past. Plus quality is not the same, IMO.
The tannin part is correct, ask any grower, that dryness your palate experiences is the feel tannins impart and the riper they are, the "softer" they feel. You can only cure tobacco leaves so much to soften the tannins, but when they are picked unripe there is not much one can do.
As to your point of "quality" control, like grapes, tobacco depends on weather in a particular year and no amount of work on the farm field can substitute for the old fashioned sun's influence (plus air quality). For example, in years like 2004, 2006 and 2008 (just some recent vintages) the weather simply did not co-operate and crops (grapes and tobacco) were picked on the "green" side (meaning unripe). Very few farmers were willing to do what's right and thin the crops a lot to allow what was left to grow to proper ripeness. Say what you want against the likes of Pepin, just one example and there a re others, but I have yet to taste any of his products that gave me an impression of unripe tobacco, main reason I am a big fan (on top of loving Nicaraguan leaf, my mainstay these days).
Some cigar makers simply get complacent, some don't.